A three-sport star at the University of British Columbia (UBC), John Haar is the only athlete in the school’s history to have an opportunity to play professionally in three sports. But his father Rudd, who was the head groundskeeper at Vancouver’s Nat Bailey Stadium, instilled a passion for baseball in his son at an early age. Primarily an infielder as a youngster, Haar was converted into an outfielder while toiling in the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees organizations.

After reaching the Double-A level as a player, Haar embarked on a coaching career that has made him one of the most respected managers in Canadian baseball history. His first high profile assignment came as an assistant with Team Canada in the Pan-American Games in Mexico City in 1975. Impressed with Haar’s work ethic, Team Canada hired the Vancouver native as its manager in 1986. Haar would guide the team to a fifth-place finish in the World Cup that same year.